Lip Incompetence Revisited: Some Good News

Almost two years ago, I wrote a piece on lip incompetence. Surprisingly, it has gotten more consistent attention than any other blog I have done. Lip incompetency is when the lips have to strain to stay closed. If you look at this person, you can see how his chin muscle is straining to achieve lip closure. His long face, receding chin, protruding lower lip, and jawline are all classic presentations of the condition. Researchers have noted several other identifiable features seen with lip incompetency, including thinner upper lips, shorter upper and lower lips, undersized lower jaw, larger upper jaw, less prominent chin, and smaller dental arch size. (1)

For the causes and treatment options for the condition, please read my original post here. To learn about treatment research and simple techniques you can do on your own to help this condition, read on! The effects on the mouth and overall health can be quite severe and should be addressed. If you suspect you or someone close to you may have this condition, please make an appointment with your dentist. 

The muscle that closes your lips together is called the orbicularis oris muscle. Healthline.com refers to it as the kissing muscle. (2) It needs to work much harder with lip incompetence. In 2015, researchers Ohtsuka, Kaneko, and Lida conducted an eight-week trial of lip incompetency subjects. The researchers had previously defined a lip-incompetence as having a sealed lip ratio of less than 30.1% during relaxation and less than 13.2% during concentration. 

The subjects' time spent with their lips closed was measured when relaxed and concentrating without any intervention for the first four weeks to get accurate measurements. They then exercised their lips for the next four weeks and were tested in relaxed and concentrated states. Initially, the subjects closed their lips about 9% when relaxed and 4.4% when concentrating on a task. After the first two weeks of exercise, the percentages jumped to around 64% while relaxed and 54% concentrating. At four weeks, the numbers jumped to 92% and 91%, respectively. The strong conclusion they drew was that lip-endurance training improves lip-competence and could be useful for improving patients' quality of life with lip-incompetence. (3)

Here's how to do the exercises. Open your mouth with your teeth about an inch apart. Place your index fingers slightly inside your mouth on each side of the corners of your lips, slightly hooked towards your cheek. Now all you have to do is contract your lip muscles for two seconds and repeat twenty times. After one month, you should notice that your lips stay together more often. 

Keeping the lips together will decrease the likelihood of problems such as tooth decay, gum disease, thrush, halitosis, burning mouth and indigestion. (4) If you find you can't keep your lips together while you sleep, mouth tape can help. This exercise is not meant to cure the condition. If you suspect you may have lip incompetency, call your dentist to have it checked out.